Hyperhidrosis sounds like something that the bad guys do to the good guys in a comic book movie. But it’s a real medical condition affecting the hands, armpits, and soles of the feet of roughly 365 million people worldwide right now. More commonly known as excessive sweating, most people don’t realize that their sopping armpits and slippery hands and feet are more than an inconvenience and are actually symptomatic of a treatable condition.
Treating excessive sweating with deodorant and antiperspirant may backfire
Most people try to treat excessive sweating by simply wearing more antiperspirant and deodorant, but this method often backfires because both antiperspirants and deodorants have limitations. Antiperspirants work by reducing sweat through the application of sweat gland-blocking compounds. Most antiperspirants are made to work for anywhere from 24 to 48 hours, but can be ineffective if applied to hot, sweaty and unclean skin. They’re most effective when applied at night after a cool shower. The use of deodorant backfires even more often because it is mistaken for antiperspirant. Deodorants help to stop armpit stench in its tracks by making your skin acidic, and therefore less tasty to bacteria, but they don’t do anything to stop or dry out perspiration.
Amongst those impacted by this strange condition is YouTuber Regina Farrell, who has been successfully managing her hyperhidrosis for more than a year with the help of iontophoresis. Regina is affected by hyperhidrosis of the underarms, or excessive sweating in the armpits, which can lead to soaked through and stained clothes, feeling hot and uncomfortable, and embarrassment and social anxiety.
How Iontophoresis Fills in Gaps Left Behind by Antiperspirant
Iontophoresis treats hyperhidrosis by disrupting communications between the nerves and the sweat glands for between one to six weeks, effectively halting sweat production. This disruption is achieved by delivering a mild electrical current to the site of excessive sweating. Dermadry’s iontophoresis device is clinically proven to provide results for nearly 93-percent of people in just two weeks while using the system at home.
For Regina, using the Dermadry iontophoresis device just fifteen minutes once per week dramatically reduced sweating. “Usually under all these layers, especially under this sweater, I’d be super sweaty, but my armpits are good,” she said.
How Iontophoresis Helped Me to Climb Literal and Figurative Mountains Without Breaking a Sweat
Regina recently took her Dermadry on the road when she visited Miyajima, Japan, and she did it all without breaking a sweat. For most people with hyperhidrosis of the underarms, the idea of climbing a mountain, let alone walking around a city for an entire day, never even crosses their minds. But for Regina, climbing mountains, both literal and figurative, has never been easier. “Dermadry was there to keep me happy and dry while I hiked Mt. Misen, explored Daisho-in Temple, wandered Ometesando Street and enjoyed Itsukushima Shrine,” she said, adding of her experience at Mt. Misen, “I climbed for about 30 minutes and [wasn’t] sweaty at all.”
Hyperhidrosis can rule your life and what you do with it, but it doesn’t have to. People like Regina overcome the challenges associated with excessive sweating every day. With the right knowledge and the right help—including an in-home iontophoresis machine—every mountain can be scaled without breaking a sweat.
